Listening for the Dream…

What is your dream? Have you asked yourself lately? If you are living a dream- maybe the question is, whose dream am I living? So often we are influenced by expectations, those from others in our lives, and more often, the expectations we’ve set for ourselves. If we think back though, often we aren’t the same exact person we were last week, last month, or even a year ago. With the world and our selves constantly in flux, how do we create a constant resource for DREAM making.

Here are a few tips to make Dream Visioning a practice for your life, and the lives of your kids!

Step #1 LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN

Of all the things I have on my to do list, the thing I most often forget to do is LISTEN. Listening is one of the most generous and insightful things we can do for ourselves and others. So often, we steer away from our truth, from that little instinctive voice in our heart because we don’t trust our own intuition, or we may be scared of what it’s saying. Every day, develop a practice of listening… even if only for one or two minutes. Close the door, light a candle or maybe create a special journal, ask- what is my deepest wish for myself? for my family/ friends/ students? for my world? Allow the doubts and “can’t”s and worries to subside, and ask again- What would I do if there was nothing in my way? Over time, you may see that this wish is consistent. This is your dream!

Step #2 DREAM BIGGER!

Even with “nothing in our way,” our human minds have the tendency to limit what is possible in our world. “Dream Bigger!” is one of my favorite games to play with students. We start by saying the first thing we are dreaming. “I dream that the whole world had clean and abundant food and water.” Coax yourself or your child to “Dream Bigger!” Allow yourself to enter into the land of magic. After all, what is possible now was not possible one hundred years ago. If we allowed the current situation to limit our dreams, then much of technology wouldn’t even exist! Dream beyond beyond beyond… it’s way more fun!

Step #3 RELAX YOUR EXPECTATIONS

For me. the greatest plague of having a vision, is constantly measuring myself against where I thought I’d be. I am very familiar with the nagging voice in my brain saying, “Oh… didn’t you want to have this much in the bank?” “Didn’t you want to have this kind of relationship?” or even more insidious, “Didn’t you want to look this way or have these possessions?” Even kids nowadays expect a lot from themselves and feel a lot of expectation placed upon them. I think these mature expectations are one of the reasons our kids are growing up faster than they need to.

Set an example for yourself and the kids in your life. Keep your Dream List (created in Step #1) of things you really wish to see in your world. Remember that everything is a moving target– it’s so important to have a clear vision so that steps can be made toward that goal. But, if we hold too tightly to what those dreams will look like, we can be very disappointed, defeated, and worse, we may not even know that we got there!

Allow the world to surprise you with how your dreams can come true!

OUR DREAM AT FLY IS TO HELP US ALL STAY CONNECTED TO OUR DEEPEST DREAMS AND GIFTS!

Haley Dawn is the Owner and Creator of FLY Yoga Arts and FLY Learning Arts. An educator for over 10 years, Haley is passionate about integrating our children's learnings through Movement and Creative Education. She currently teaches and creates Movement and Mindfulness education curriculum for various New York City schools, LA's Best Enrichment Programs, and in private studio classes nationwide. She runs a home school/ after school program in Los Angeles, and teaches adult Yoga classes at Exhale Santa Monica, Golden Bridge Yoga, and privately. Learn, Play and Ascend!